How to care for a stye

Written by contributing writer

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Styes are painful. (phasinphoto/iStock/Getty Images)

A stye is an inflammation of the ocular oil gland that results in a red and inflamed bump on your lower eyelid. While not life threatening, it can be somewhat painful and embarrassing. Most people think that a stye is the sort of ailment that just goes away with time, but with a little know how, you can help your eye heal quicker and get back to life, stye-free.

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Instructions

1

Wash the area around the eye. With a warm, damp flannel and a mild soap, clean the area around the eye gently. Be careful not to get any soap in the eye itself. Once done, rinse with warm water. With a very clean cup and lukewarm water, rinse your eyeball. This will be messy, so do it in the bathroom, in the bath, if you can. Be sure to give it two or three rinses so your eye is clear of any mucous or small debris. Now that it's clean, you're ready to start treating the stye.

2

Draw out the infection with a tea bag. Take a normal tea bag and dampen it with lukewarm water. Place the bag on the affected eye (while closed, of course). Keep it in place by either holding it, or strapping it to your head with an eye patch. Wetting the tea bag activates the tannin in the tea. Tannin is a chemical that dries out anything it comes in contact with. The tannin in the tea bag will begin to draw out the infection in your eye. Leave the tea bag there for fifteen minutes. When you remove it, there may be some puss, so be sure to repeat Step one, each time after you use the tea bag. Repeat the tea bag application two or three times a day, or as needed.

3

Treat the stye with medication. You can find plenty of over the counter ointments washes for the treatment of a stye. The ointment to buy for a stye is polysporin. Between tea bag applications, apply the polysporin as directed. Bausch and Lomb makes a medicated wash that is very effective, as well.

4

Maintain regular warm, wet compresses on your eye. When not using the ointment or tea bag, it is a good idea to keep a constant warm, wet compress on your eye. What this does, is unblock the pore that became infected in the first place. Make sure the compress is hot enough to be effective, but not so hot that it will damage your eye, or the thin skin surrounding your eye.

5

Use preventive measures to keep the stye from returning.Once it has gone, it is relatively easy to keep a stye from returning. Throw out any eye make up that you've had for a long period of time. This was most likely the culprit. Also, if you tend to touch your eyes a lot, be more vigilant about washing your hands on a regular basis. General cleanliness of your hands and eyes will ensure that your stye will not return.